Peter, Pinocchio and the Scorpion
by CoralSnakeUSA
Summary: A mysterious third person places one of the hat scorpions in the Pleasure Island Roller Coaster area on order to have the Island declared unsafe and Geppetto removed from its adminsitration
1. A Scorpion Mystery

Peter, Pinocchio and the Scorpion

Chapter 1 - A Scorpion Mystery:

Late Night, Pleasure Island Collodi, Off the Coast of Tuscany, Italy 1882.

The man by the Roller Coaster was dark and shadow like in the night much like the former Pleasure Island Minions during the time the Red Star held sway on the Island. However he was a man in of the Collodi timeline and not just a simple solidified shadow from another world like a Minion. He was laying something on the ground and as he did he spoke to it.

"You will one day kill somebody here and that will end Geppetto's reign of goodie goodieness here once and for all. Then my own master can free the Coachman and the Ringmaster and we can re assume our most profitable endeavors."

The man waved his hands over the object in the specific arcane way that was designed to trigger it. It was one of the Ringmaster's scorpion sting hats and is it started growing into a full scorpion the man ran off before the process was complete and it became deadly to him as well. The full scorpion was six feet long in the body with another six feet in the stinger /telson bearing tail for twelve feet altogether in length. Its main pincers and eight legs made it appear even bigger. However continuing its usual instincts to want to hide until prey got within range of it the scorpion crawled into the framing holding up the Roller Coaster track.

Once the man was what he felt was a safe distance away he went to a normal walk and exited the great oak doors which were always kept open under Geppetto's administration of Pleasure Island. On the other side a large rowing ship was docked. This ancient kind of ship had the advantage of silence about it and allowed this man to approach Pleasure Island without alerting people sleeping there with engine noise of any kind.

The man went down below both its main deck and the central section where the slaves manned its oars to the main section of the ship. This was decked out in ancient luxury and dominated by a throne. On this throne sat a figure petting a cat reminiscent of the Coachman when he controlled SPECTRE in the James Bond World. However this figure was totally cloaked in white and much smaller than either the Coachman or the Ringmaster and the cloaked person's cat was a black rather than white Persian cat.

"It has been set." The man said. "It is a matter of hours or a day at the most before someone gets killed and eaten at the Roller Coaster and when that happens Geppetto loses his licenses to run a children's facility in Collodi and you can step in."

"Good," the cloaked figure with the cat returned. "Tell the slave master to have this ship rowed to our secret port on the Tuscany mainland until wew get the news that Geppetto has lost his licenses.

Morning, Pleasure Island Collodi, Off the Coast of Tuscany, Italy 1882.

Mrs. Pietta was very honored that Geppetto chose her to teach the students of his Version of the Pleasure Island facility. She also knew however that three of her students Pinocchio, Lampwick and the newest one Peter were opposed to most students very appreciative of her services. Hacing gone through the experiences of being donkeys, puppets and the like in the case of Pinocchio and Lampwick and losing a guardian and loving relative to a dictator in the case of Peter all three took School and the Junior Woodchucks very seriously. In fact all three of them were In Junior Woodchuck uniform as they were having a meeting on the other side of the barrel ride when school let out. Mrs. Pietta also knew that these three would often have to be let out of school early to fulfill missions for the Administration of Pleasure Island or for the Blue Fairy that granted them their various wishes and often expected them to perform missions for her as a continued testing of their bravery, truthfulness and unselfishness, the conditions of having those wishes granted.

Peter was standing in front of the class with Mrs. Pietta to be introduced to the class as a new student.

"I would like to introduce you to our latest student, Peter Prokofiev Geppetto." Mrs Pietta said to the class. "He comes from Russia during a dark period of its future history and lost his grandfather to the dictator there. The blue Fairy brought him to Tombstone Arizona to assist Pinocchio and Romeo on one of their missions for the Blue Fairy and as a reward he was made a member of Geppetto's family. Now Peter you can take your seat and we will continue with our lesson on the history of the Italian Reunification War.

Just as the lesson was beginning a man in the sky blue and white uniforms that Geppetto's adult administrators of the Island wore ran into the schoolroom. "EVACUATE! EVACUATE!" He shouted.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Pietta asked.

"There is a monster in the Roller Coaster area!" The uniformed man returned. "Some kind of giant scorpion. This school adjoins the Roller Coaster area and is also in danger from the monster."

"Those again." Pinocchio whispered to Lampwick and Peter. "Doesn't that Ringmaster and Coachman EVER give up, even from the calaboose."

"I doubt that this one came from the Ringmaster or the Coachman." Lampwick said. "It is probably just one of their more vengeful Scorpion guards who kept his hat and the magical hand signals to grow it into a full scorpion monster."

"Well, let's just hope that's all it is." Pinocchio returned.

"The evacuation will now proceed in an orderly fashion with Pinocchio, Romeo and Peter returning to the Administration building and the other students going to the regular child boarding area." The uniformed man said. He himself would be the evacuation escort for Geppetto's adopted suns while the other children would be taken to their boarding area by other Island administrators which basically functioned as Fire, Police and Emergency Management officers for the Island.

"Once at the Administration building Geppetto met the administrator and the his sons at the door. "What's going on?" he asked. "Why is the school being evacuated so early."

"A scorpion monster has been sighted at the Roller Coaster area." the administrator returned. "The school is being evacuated for safety reasons because it adjoins that area."

"I thought we were through those things when the Ringmaster received his prison sentence for turning boys into donkeys for the purpose of enslavement.

"Well apparently not." the administrator returned. "There is a twelve footer counting the tail and sting hiding out under the roller coaster frame somewhere."

"We think that this one is simple the result of one of the Ringmaster's Scorpion guards who had a sting hat left over and knew how to activate it."

"Well that's highly doubtful." Geppetto returned. "All of the sting hats were accounted for and killed when the Ringmasters reign over this island was ended. No we seem to have a yet a third major troublemaker in our midst who wants to return the Pleasure Islands to their old business."

Peter broke into the conversation. "Twelve feet would be about six feet for the main body of the creature wouldn't it, you know the part with the legs, eyes and pincer claws."

"Yes," Geppetto told Peter. "What are you getting at?"

"That's about a WOLF'S size." Peter said. "The way I captured the wolf back in Soviet Russia might be applicable here as well. Only in this case we will have to secure the pincers, tail and sting to disable this creature's most dangerous parts."

"And how can this be done?" Geppetto asked.

"From one of the Roller Coaster hills using ropes and a securing bar." Peter returned. "Basically what is to be done is to capture the scorpion on the ground and haul him up to the securing bar so that he cant use his sting, pincers or chelicerae against the capturers."

"And you have done this before with a wolf in your old homeland?" Geppetto asked.

"Certainly," Peter said. "My story is almost as famous as Pinocchio's in the future of many timelines."

"Then it looks like you three boys are elected again." Geppetto said. "Well, at least this little adventure is at home and not on some far off timeline." What do you need for this capture attempt Peter."

"We will nee three ropes, a wooden beam at least twenty feet long and Sasha, Sonya and Ivan."

"Good," Geppetto said. "We'll have your pets and the equipment you asked for at the Roller Coaster gate by the time you get there, Administrator, see to it?"

"What about the other pets." Pinocchio asked.

"Won't work." Peter returned. "Cleo is a water animal and we are going after a land predator and as far as cats go Ivan is older and more experienced at exactly what we are going to do here than Figgero. We need animal helpers that can get that scorpion's attention from the air where they will be relatively safe and have experience working with such predators on the ground."

"What about Jimminy." Pinocchio asked.

"Not this time." Peter answered. "Scorpions and crickets mix like oil and water to the extent that Jimminy might have a heart attack just smelling that brute. Scorpions are basically a cricket predator in their normal size you know. There is a place for Jimminy in this adventure just not here and now."

"What do you mean?" Pinocchio asked.

"The scorpion is only a symptom of a bigger disease." Peter answered. "Someone from the old regime of Pleasure Island or perhaps even a complete outsider who knows what went on here wants Geppetto to be kicked out of here so that he or she can return this place to being a boy to donkey factory. We'll bring Jimminy in when it comes time to salve that part of the puzzle dealing with who that person is. Meanwhile as far as pets go Sasha, Sonya and Ivan are the only animals I trust with that scorpion because they have done this type of capture before with the wolf.

As soon as all of Pinocchio's questions were answered the three boys went off to the Roller Coaster area.

Next. The scorpion's capture and the mystery of the new donkey to boy factory threat begins.

Note. The name Prokofiev used as Peter's middle name here is the last name of the composer of the Peter and the Wolf suite.


	2. The Scorpion's Capture

Chapter2 - The Scorpion's Capture.

Pleasure Island Collodi, Off the Coast of Tuscany, Italy 1882.

Peter, Pinocchio and Lampwick found the equipment and animals Peter requested waiting for them at the gates of the Roller Coaster area. The plan was a simple one. Peter, Pinocchio and lamp wick would set up their capture beam in the superstructure of the Roller Coaster's hill that was nearest the gate with the ropes bearing nooses at the end of them placed in the positions where the sting and the pincers would be when the scorpion was captured. Ivan would hunt the monster on the ground using his sneaky cat tactics and report its position to Sasha and Sonya now a fully flight capable adult duck. These two would then guide the scorpion to the trap where they would use their flight maneuvers to attempt to bring the scorpions pincers and sting in the nooses where it could be captured, safely reeled in and secured to the capture beam by Pinocchio and Peter who were manning the crossbeam's ends. Once captured and secured the monster would then be caged in a thick glass cage as a new Pleasure Island exhibit.

Most of the time of setting the trap was getting the capture beam and nooses set up so that the nooses would receive the pincers and the sting but once that was done Peter and Pinocchio waited in the superstructure of the Roller Coaster hill where the trap was set waiting for Ivan, Sasha and Sonya to do their work.

Ivan skulked around the entirety of the Roller Coaster area but finally found his target under the superstructure of a large hill in the center of the ride. The scorpion was in the sleeping posture of its kind with the stinging tail tightly curled and the legs and pincers tucked close in to its body. Ivan let out a loud combination of cat hiss and mewing at the sight of the monster. The scorpion immediately woke up springing its tail in what would have been a vicious stinging strike if Ivan were close enough to it. This was followed by Sonya and Sasha coming on the scene. Sonya flew in such a way as to deliberately elicit further futile stinging attacks form the monster while Sonya concentrated on alerting the sensory hairs in the monsters pincers so that it would crawl in the direction of the trap. Both animals showed their experience in dealing with apex predators cleverly avoiding the sting and the pincers while taking advantage of their sensory hairs to move the scorpion in the direction they wanted it to go.

This activity on the part of Sasha, Sonya and Ivan soon brought the monster to the trap. Once there Sasha concentrated on getting the Scorpion to sting through the rear noose. After several attempts of flying through the rear noose in order to get the scorpion to send its sting through it the little bird succeeded. Lampwick controlling that particular noose set it once the sting was through thus neutralizing the most dangerous part of the monster. Once the sting was captured Sonya and Ivan concentrated on getting the other dangerous parts of the scorpion, the pincers to go through the nooses intended for them. Sonya much as she did with the wolf deliberately put herself in harms way placing her self close to the noose within the striking range of the left pincer. However this time not even a feather was ruffled as the scorpion struck with the right pincer and that pincer was set by Pinocchio setting his noose. One more pincer remained. This was Ivan's target and intended for Peter's noose. Ivan used his sneaky cat tricks to get as close to the noose as possible and then jump straight up. The scorpion then struck with its free right pincer directly through the noose and Peter then set it. After all of these dangerous parts were under restraint all three boys then rotated the capture bar bring the scorpion upwards and firmly locking it to the capture bar.

The job of capturing the scorpion ended with the bring down of the capture bar with the scorpion to the ground again after which an impromptu parade was set up by Geppetto and his uniformed administrators. Down the midway of Pleasure Island Collodi. Peter led this parade because it was obvious that he came up with the plan to capture the monster and was the hero of the day. He was followed by Lampwick and Pinocchio carrying the capture bar with the scorpion tied to it with the administrators and Geppetto taking up the rear. The parade ended at re enforced glass cage designed to accommodate crocodiles and large pythons. It would be more than sufficient to keep the scorpion from causing any more trouble until it was decided what to do with it. Once the parade was over and the scorpion was licked up one of Geppetto's administrators skulked away from the aria of the glass cage and down up the midway. He passed through the great oak doors to the docking area where he found his one man steamboat waiting. He boarded it and headed out to sea away from Pleasure Island.

On a ship about a Mile From Pleasure Island Collodi, 1882:

The robed little figure with the black Persian cat waited for the man that had been slipped into Geppetto's Pleasure Island Administration. When he arrived the figure said in a quiet voice. "You did get that scorpion placed on Pleasure Island, did you, Number 2?"

"Yes Number 1, but it was captured before it could kill anybody. It seems that little Russian boy that Geppetto took in used his experience with capturing a wolf in his homeland to take the scorpion out of action."

"Than that means you failed." Said the robed figure with the black Persian cat.

"I know you are running this newest operation to bring Pleasure Island back to us like that SPECTRE bunch the Coachman found in 1971, but please, don't go all the way with the idea."

"Silence Number 2," the robed figure with the cat said. "This operation as you call it does not tolerate failure. You failed the same old way. You pay the PENALTY of failure the SAME OLD WAY. The robed figure with the cat pointed a clocked arm at the phony Pleasure Island administrator. Immediately he sprouted donkey ears and a tail after which his entire head changed to that of a donkey he finally fell on all fours and the donkey transformation was complete. The robed figure with the cat then sent for one of her own black uniformed personnel with a scorpion sting hat.

"Take this incompetent jerk to the SALT MINES and see if they will accept an ADULT jackass for a change." The figure said. "Then arrange for our other "little" surprise for Geppetto and that weird family of his on Pleasure Island. Even if I changed him back," The figure pointed to the donkey. "I have mi doubts even he could goof that one up. You are now my new number 2."

"Yes, number 1" The new Number 2 said to the robed figure. He then proceeded to take the donkey that was once the old Number 2 and continued with his assignment.

Pleasure Island Collodi, Italy, 1882:

The scorpion crawled in a pacing fashion back and fourth in its cage. Once and a while it would try to sting or pinch the people who gawked inside the cage. However the glass held up well against such attacks and the creature was rendered harmless thereby.

Three of the gawkers were Pinocchio, Lampwick and Peter now decked out in their Junior Woodchucks Uniforms and passing the scorpion's cage on the way to the barrel ride that would take them top Pleasure Island Duckburg for one of that organization's weekly meetings.

"Well there is still a mystery attached to that thing." Pinocchio said. "We captured it but we don't know who put it here. It can't be the Coachman or the Ringmaster. Both of them are still safely in Prison in Duckburg and Collodi respectively."

"Then you believe there is a third person who wants to bring Pleasure Island back into the boy to donkey conversion business." Lampwick said. "But who could it be."

"I don't know yet." Pinocchio said. "But I believe that the answer to that question lies on the other side of our barrel ride in Duckburg along with the Junior Woodchuck Meeting."

"And that is supposed to mean?" Peter asked.

"I don't know yet," Pinocchio answered. "Just a theory I have. We Will Have to talk with Huey, Dewey and Louie Duck when we get over there about it."

"Then you DO know who this third person who wants to return Pleasure Island to its old business is." Lampwick said. "I'm beginning to catch on too."

"Like I said, It is only a theory for now." Pinocchio said. "Our talk with the Duck brothers will confirm it, so don't go blabbing it all over both Pleasure Islands yet."

"Who is this person you are referring too." Peter said. "Remember, I'm new to this family."

"Sorry Peter," Pinocchio said. "But you will have to stay in the dark a little while longer where this person is concerned until we meet the Duck brothers."

"Well then, Lets go on through." Peter said. "I'm very anxious to see these Duck brothers and find out about this third person who threatens Pleasure Island.

With that they made for the ball shaped white building covering the barrel ride as fast as they could. Other Junior Woodchuck Uniformed residents of Pleasure Island Collodi waited for Pinocchio, Lampwick and Peter who were the only boys with a key to the Barrel Ride on the island. Pinocchio and Lampwick gave peter the honor of opening the access door to the barrel ride as he was the main hero involved with the capture of the scorpion earlier in the day. After Peter, Pinocchio and Lampwick went through the ride all the others followed knowing that both a Junior Woodchucks meeting and the answer to the mystery of the scorpion lay on the other side of the ride in Duckburg.

Next. The third wicked person trying to take over Pleasure Island Collodi id REVEALED on Pleasure Island Duckburg. Meanwhile back on the Collodi timeline the "little" surprise that person has for Geppetto and the Pleasure Island Administration turns out to be not so little and NOT another scorpion.


	3. The Mystery begins:

Chapter 3 - The Mystery begins:

Most of the Pre Meeting talk at the Junior Woodchuck meeting house on Pleasure Island Duckburg concerned the capture of the Scorpion monster on Pleasure Island Collodi. Peter Prokofiev Geppetto being the mastermind of that capture was the hero of the day at the meeting and the monster's capture earned him his promotion to Brigadier as well as the merit badges in hunting and trapping as field awards. Other events at the meeting included Doofus McQuack getting his merit badge in steam engineering and several un named Junior Woodchucks also getting promotions and merit badges of various types that they earned by meeting the requirements of the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook for them.

The next phase of the meeting after the various award ceremonies involved playing the Woodchuck Game. The game was played with playing cards but was of a non gambling nature. The way it worked was that the G. M. O. J. W. (Grand Master of Junior Woodchucking) shuffled the cards and the player cut them and then took the top card from the uncut remainder of the cards. If the card was one of the red ones (Hearts or diamonds) he got to do an easy task from the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook. If it was a black one (Spades or Clubs) the task from the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook would be one of the more difficult ones that could be performed at the meeting house. If the task was successfully completed the player got the number of points indicated by his card with aces counting as 14, kings as 13, queens as 12, jacks as 11 and the remainder cards their numerical value.

As the newest Brigadier Peter was given the honor of the first cut and draw for his Patrol, Huey Duck's Patrol 1. Peter's card was the Ace of Hearts for 14 points if he completed a simple assigned task.

"Ace, Simple" he announced. "Peter Prokofiev Geppetto, come to the game table."

Peter obeyed and the G. M. O. J. W. presented him with two ropes. "Now your assignment is to tie me a square knot."

Of course every Junior Woodchuck even a Major knew how to tie a square knot and the presenting the two ropes properly secured gave Huey's patrol the first 14 points of the game.

One of the Pleasure Island Collodi orphans who led the first all true human Patrol in the Junior Woodchucks numbered Patrol 2 then came up to the card cutting part of the game table. His name was Antonio Gievetti.

Even though Gievetti was Competition Pinocchio silently wished him luck. The members of Patrol 2 all have lived hard lives in other orphanages and street gangs of various sorts. Many of them were even donkeys at one time like Lampwick. It was obvious that Antonio was once a donkey boy as he had a distinct aversion to the cards and cards were a commonly used amusement on the old Coachman and Ringmaster run Pleasure Island. However he managed to overcome this aversion enough to do his cut and draw. It was the Ace of Diamonds.

"Ace, simple." the G. M. O. J. W. (Grand Master of Junior Woodchucking). You don't even have to go over to the other game table as your assigned task is to recite to me the Junior Woodchucks motto."

Antonio returned. " Preparedness and Preservation of Knowledge."

"That is correct." the G. M. O. J. W. (Grand Master of Junior Woodchucking) announced. "Patrol 2 now has 14 points.

The next player's cut and draw then came. This player was Huey's Patrol's main competitor in the Woodchucks. Patrol 3 led by the pig boy Samuel Pheters. His draw was the Ten of Spades.

"Ten, Difficult," the G. M. O. J. W. (Grand Master of Junior Woodchucking) announced. "Patrol Leader Samuel Pheters come to the game table."

Huey liked this turn of events. "Sam Pheters was one of the genuine spoiled brats of the new Troop as were most pig boys which Sam was. This meant he was going to pull an assignment that would probably lose his patrol the points indicated on the cards.

"Your assignment is to give me the subjects of the entirety of the Merit Badge group on page 10,207 of the Junior Woodchuck Guidebook.

That would be the Natural Science badges and I believe they are as follows, Entomology, Herpetology, Paleontology, Ornithology, Mammalology, Botany, Ichthyology, and Zoology.

"That's correct and you have earned your patrol ten points." the G. M. O. J. W. (Grand Master of Junior Woodchucking) announced.

"I didn't think he would ever pull that one off." Peter said to Pinocchio in a whisper.

However it was now time for Huey to play for Patrol 1's second round. The approached the card play part of the game table. The G. M. O. J. W. (Grand Master of Junior Woodchucking) shuffled the cards and placed them on the table before Huey. Huey cut the cards and drew the top one from the uncut remiander. It was the dreaded Ace of Spades.

"Ace, Difficult" the G. M. O. J. W. (Grand Master of Junior Woodchucking) announced. Huey Duck come to the game table.

"Huey then went to the second game table where the tasks were given. "Huey, since you drew the Ace of Spades we have to make your task especially difficult." the G. M. O. J. W. (Grand Master of Junior Woodchucking) said. "You will be dealing with an important event in our Junior Woodchuck Guidebook dealing with the original Woodchuck Militia from the 19th century here. Your task is to answer the question, Who was the first Woodchuck Militia leader to use a Revolver as his issue weapon."

"I believe that was Randal Jerramie McQuack and the gun was one of the first Walker Colts of the Whitneyville assembly line." Huey answered.

"That is Correct" the G. M. O. J. W. (Grand Master of Junior Woodchucking) announced Your Patrol now has 24 points.

This game continued until the end of the meeting with Huey Duck's Patrol 1 winning, Antonio Gievetti's Patrol 2 coming in a close second and Sam Pheters's Patrol 3 losing with a distant third. Results both Huey and Pinocchio liked.

After the Meeting Pinocchio approached Huey and announced. "I think we should have a special meeting.

Pleasure Island Collodi was threatened by a scorpion monster in the Roller Coaster Area again."

"What." Huea shouted. "That would indicate the Ringmaster's out of the clink."

"No," Pinocchio announced. "We're sure the Ringmaster's still in prison and that it is not him. It is a third person interested in the old boy to donkey conversion business and that person lives here in the Duckburg world, In my own home country if I were actually carved here when I was a puppet."

"You don't mean!" Huey shouted.

"Yes I do," Pinocchio returned. "I believe that our newest little scorpion and potential boy to donkey maker is MAGICA DE SPELL!"

Off the shore of Pleasure Island Collodi, Italy, 1882:

Even though her activities were now known amongst the Junior Woodchucks on Pleasure Island Duckburg they were not to her scorpion sting hatted minions and the inhabitants of Pleasure Island Collodi. Therefore Magica De Spell kept her hidden robed cat petting Earnst Stavro Blofeld look as she looked at the island far away. One thing magica knew however was that the elements of her magic had to be practiced separately in order for her scheme to be the new donkey to boy conversion master of BOTH of the Pleasure Islands. Combining several spells into a Red Star again would simply be too uncontrollable and too obvious for the Geppetto Family's guardian Blue Fairy to ever miss. However using the main wicked works of the Red Star as separate spells might work.

Her first work would be identical to the Coachman's when he had possession of the original red star but different. Her "Monstro" would be neither a whale or a scorpion she thought as she looked into the glass container next to her feet. In it was an eel like creature with a bluish black topside and a bright yellow belly with a paddle like tail blotched in the same bluish black and yellow. However the creature was not an eel which was a fish but it was a reptilian eater of fish. It was the highly venomous Yellow Bellied Sea Snake scientifically named Palamus platurus. It would soon be a totally new and even more dangerous form of the Monstro concept, a 100 foot long VENOMOUS sea serpent.

Magica cast her spell over the sea snake with a combination of hand gestures and speech both of an arcane type and then dumped the entire contents of the glass container into the sea. Once there the sea snake began to supernaturally grow until it reached the proportions of the Coachman's whales and the Ringmastewr's scorpions. The sea around Pleasure Island was now dominated by the equivalent of the legendary sea serpent but a VENOMOUS equivalent derived from a real sea snake.

Later that day off the Coast of Pleasure Island Collodi, Italy, 1882:

One of the girls coming home on the last ferry boat from Pleasure Island was the first to see the new phenomenon in the sea. At first it took the form of a set of undulating wakes headed towards the ferry. Then the head came out of the water. The head was black on its top and yellow on its bottom and was covered with heavy plates. Behind it was an equally black and yellow neck covered with scales resembling corn on the cob. The girl screamed and that led others to look in her direction and see the sea serpent head by this time its mouth was open in preparation to strike. The serpent's venomous fangs were short and fixed like all elapid type snakes and only revealed themselves as sleight tissue thickenings toward the front of the enormous mouth. The events that originally closed Pleasure Island down and robbed Lampwick of his family were playing themselves out again only with a reptilian rather than mammalian "Monstro". However this time the ferries were prepared for such an incident.

"Man the life boats!" the Ferry captain announced. "Let the monster have this ship without us aboard."

Well before the sea snake reached the striking range for the ferry the life boats were launched and rowed in the direction of Pleasure Island. They were safely at the docks to the great Oak doors again before the snake made its strike. It seemed to chew and make sure that the fangs penetrated the fairy several times before swallowing it again following its elapid instincts as regarded the use of its venom. Unlike the first time Monstro the Whale attacked a ship this attack of the great sea snake ended no lives.

On the Island itself Geppetto was the first to see the monster sea snake and knew full well what it meant. Pleasure Island would have to be closed down again if the monster was not immediately dealt with. It also meant that there was someone after the Island in order to turn it back into a boy to donkey factory, but who.

Both the Coachman and the Ringmaster were in prison in Duckburg and Collodi respectively. Besides the coachman always dealt in making whale based monsters and the Ringmaster always dealt in making scorpion based ones. This sea snake business was something new that was sort of in between combining the venomousness of the scorpion with the aquatic lifestyle of the whale. It meant a third person was involved, one that was previously allied with the other two. It was through this "in between" monster that Geppetto determined the same answer for the person behind the scorpion monster in the roller coaster area and now the new monster sea snake off Pleasure Island that his sons and Huey Dick did. It was Magica De Spell, the sorceress from the Duckburg world that was behind these latest attempts to close down and take over the Pleasure Islands.

Later that day when Pinocchio, Lampwick and Peter returned to Pleasure Island Collodi with Huey Dewey and Louie this confirmed Geppetto's own beliefs about the newest attacks on his family's operation of the Pleasure Islands.

"Father," Peter said to Geppetto. "We have every reason to believe that a Duckburg world resident named Magica De Spell was behind the scorpion in the roller coaster area this morning."

"I'm quite familiar with De Spell." Geppetto returned. "I assume that is why the duck brothers are here also?"

"Yes" Pinocchio returned. "They are the Junior Woodchucks most familiar with De Spell as she is always after their Uncle Scrooge McDuck's number 1 dime."

"Well, it seems that she is after quite bit more than a dime." Geppetto returned. "Like Pleasure Island in order to continue the same despicable business that the Coachman and the Ringmaster engaged in. She just let loose another monster off our coast, a giant sea serpent derived from a venomous Pacific yellow bellied sea snake. It appears that we will have to shut down the Island again until the new monster is dealt with.

"Another Monstro, and as a snake this time." Lampwick said. "Can't these creeps come up with anything new."

"More than just a snake," Geppetto returned to Lampwick. "A VENOMOUS snake of gigantic proportions.

It probably does not even need to bite anymore to be dangerous. Just breathing in its venom in a mist form might kill you as anything that goes through your lungs goes directly into the blood stream just as a bite would. That snake is the first thing we have to deal with or this Island will have to be closed down indefinitely again. Then we must find and deal with De Spell since she is obviously in this world right now."

"Maybe this will help." Pinocchio said producing something from his vest pocket. It was one of the magic glass cartridges the blue fairy provided him with for his peacemaker during the scorpion fight in Tombstone.

"But we have nothing to fire that off with here." Geppetto said.

"Well we can make something." Pinocchio said. "Perhaps we can turn that old blunderbuss pistol of yours if you still have it into a breach loader that can use this magic cartridge.

"Yes, that cartridge responds to the mere snap of a firearm hammer and not direct contact of a fireing pin as I remember its use from the Tombstone assignment." Geppetto returned. "Perhaps the blunderbuss pistol could be modified to use this magic cartridge."

"Well then let's get to work." Pinocchio said. "Its time to get that venomous pseudo sea serpent out of our waters."

The modification of Geppetto's blunderbuss pistol did not take as much time as expected. Rather than modifying the entire barrel as Pinocchio originally intended all that was required was a breech loading barrel insert for the glass cartridge that could be muzzle loaded into the gun and supported in place with natural rubber O rings. Several test shots proved the size reducing blue beam would come from this modification of the blunderbuss pistol. Geppetto now had an effective weapon against creatures enlarged by magic like the sea snake off Pleasure Island.

"Get one of the ferries ready." Geppetto returned. "We get rid of that snake TODAY!"

Next. After the Great Sea Snake.


	4. After the Snake

Chapter 4 - After the Snake.

Off the coast of Pleasure Island Collodi, Tuscany, Italy, 1882:

The ferry went slowly and deliberately through the waters around pleasure island. On it were four people each with a specific assignment, Geppetto was at the boat's wheel, Lampwick and Peter kept the fire up for its steam engine, Pinocchio had charge of the modified blunderbuss pistol as he had previous experience using the glass cartridge inside it against magically modified monsters with the scorpions of Tombstone.

The boat circumnavigated the waters around Pleasure Island at least seven times with no sign of the great sea snake Magica De Spell had placed in those waters.

"Maybe it's the glass cartridge that is keeping the monster away." Pinocchio said. "It was known that even the residual magic of the Red Star kept Monstro away from the Coachman's ferry during Pleasure Island's dark hay day as a boy to donkey factory."

"I doubt that is a possibility here." Geppetto returned. "Those scorpions in Tombstone did not try to avoid you when you had six of those glass cartridges in the peacemaker in Tombstone so that is probably not the reason the sea snake is avoiding us."

Suddenly the ferry was shaken. Underneath it was part of an enormous bluish black body covered in corn cob type scales. "The SNAKE!" Gepetto shouted.

With that the head of the reptile came out of the water. It was simply enormous and covered in gigantic but otherwise rather typical snake head plates. Pinocchio had to get started on reducing this monster's size before it could open its mouth and spew venom from its short Elapid style fangs. At this size the great amount of venom that could be spewed by the snake could cause deadly venom fumes that could get into the lungs and directly into the bloodstream where it would kill just like a conventional neurotoxic Elapid snakebite.

The first blue beam from the modified blunderbuss pistol reduced the snake's size by half but it was still a danger due to being able to release venom in fume form. The next shot reduced its size by half again eliminating that particular danger but still making it more than capable of sinking ships. The next shot eliminated even that danger but the snake was still abnormally large. Pinocchio's next shot brought the snake to its normal size and his last one brought the snake into the glass cartridge where it would be trapped until released by the Blue Fairy or a similar magical creature. Pinocchio had defeated even more evil magic and kept Pleasure Island open. The only thing needed to put an end to that magic once and for all was to find the one responsible Magica De Spell, neutralize her just as the Coachman and the Ringmaster were Neutralized and then see to her punishment for contaminating the waters around Pleasure Island with venomous monsters in order to return it to its former sordid business.

"But how will we find Magica." Geppetto asked Pinocchio.

"We can ask John Worthington and Stromboli where she might hang out in our world." Pinocchio returned.

"They are knowledgeable of the locations of the assorted crook hangouts in Collodi."

"Yes, but she is a duck person." Geppetto returned. "I have my doubts that she would hangout in a crook hangout here."

"Remember John Worthington, Gideon and Jiminy." Pinocchio returned. "Anthropomorphic animals are not that unusual in our world."

"Then I'll turn this boat around and we will Return to Pleasure Island." Geppetto returned. "Stromboli is still there at the puppet theater but John Worthington and Gideon are drumming for Pleasure Island on the mainland."

Pleasure Island Collodi, Tuscany, Italy, 1882:

Pinocchio went immediately to Stromboli's puppet theater once the Ferry landed. Stromboly was buisy working on his Russian Puppets.

"Hello Pinocchio," Stromboli said. "Coming to be ina the show again, Why not leta your new adopted brother Peter be ina it too thisa time. He actually fitsa in with thesea puppets better thana you do."

"No, I'm not here to be in the show this time." Pinocchio answered. "It seems we have a new threat to this Island coming from one Magica De Spell from the Duckburg world. What I want from you is some idea where we might find her since you are very familiar with the assorted lowlife hangouts in Collodi."

"There is only onea major hangout for criminals ina Collodi and that isa the Red Lobster Saloon and Inn."

"Yes, we are already familiar with that one." Pinocchio said. "and thanks."

"Bya the way," Stromboli returned. "Maybe you shoulda also look into ships anda ferrys ata sea. Ita is highly unlikely thata Missa De Spell woulda be anywhere ona the mainland ifa she comes froma the Duckburg world.

"We'll get a telescope and take a look for nearby ships from the northeast cliffs of the island first then." Pinocchio said. "and thank you." Pinocchio then proceeded to Lampwick's slingshot shooting gallery where telescopes of sufficient quality to find nearby ships were being offered as prizes.

"Lampy." Pinocchio said when we reached the shooting gallery. "We need one of your prize telescopes to locate a ship on which Magica De Spell might be."

"So you think she is on a ship Pinokey." Lampwick returned.

"The only other choice of location for her would be the Red Lobster in Collodi and I don't think she is really ready to put in a real appearance yet, even in a crook hangout." Pinocchio said.

Lampwick handed a telescope that was out of its box for display purposes to Pinocchio. "Remember, we have seen both giant sea snakes and giant scorpions from this duck woman so far and she probably has a lot more tricks of that nature up her sleeve. I've better come up the cliffs with you. There will be no customers here until the official ferries start coming in anyway."

Pinocchio and Lampwick then followed a path on Pleasure Island that Pinocchio was very familiar with for it was the path of escape from completely turning onto a donkey for him on his first visit to the Island. From the northeast cliff heights one could see the whole of the park and well out into the sea in the southwest direction and the sea itself for hundreds of miles out in all directions.

Pinocchio looked out onto the sea with his telescope and noticed a small ship that was about twice the size of a Pleasure Island ferry in a due west direction. Setting the focus on the telescope revealed that several members of its crew were black uniformed and wearing what looked like the Ringmaster's scorpion sting hats but this time Probably Produced by Magica De Spell.

"There she is." Pinocchio announced. "Small ship of unknown registry with scorpion sting hat guards similar to those the Ringmaster had. That's probably where De Spell is.

"There is no way we're attacking that ship with only one magic cartridge in father's old blunderbuss pistol."

Lampwick said. "We might wind up donkeys again. The best way to neutralize Magica is at the Red Lobster where there isn't any of those scorpion sting guys around.

However Magica's real plot was not to find more crooks at the Red Lobster to join her. She already had the allience she wanted for making a new boy to donkey factory. The problem was that they were in prisons in Duckburg and Collodi at the time. They were none other than the Coachman and his adoptive magician son, the Ringmaster.

Furthermore she was only making a pretense of trying to regain the Pleasure Islands for this purpose. She knew well that the Geppetto family would have some kind of magical device from the Blue Fairy to neutralize her giant sea snake and her scorpion monster. Her actual target was to be a candy factory in the United Kingdom of the year 2005 that seemed to operate as a fairy tale / amusement park environment as well as a conventional factory. The purpose of the sea snake, the scorpion and letting her ship be so easily seen from Pleasure Island was to make the Geppetto family think that their islands were again the target of the conspiracy and divert their's and the Blue Fairy's attention from other possible targets.

For her attack on the 21st century candy factory Magica learned all there was to know about it and its possible competitors and enemies. What she found out was that her new target was owned by an eccentric semi recluse named Willy Wonka and staffed by a tribe of little people called Oompa Loompas from an island off the coast of New Zeland that Wonka simply called Loompaland. Something about this Loompaland island however made certain insects grow to giant size several varieties of which developed into full fledged apex predators.

The worst of these was called the Whangdoodle by the Oompa Loompas. From this giant bug's basic discription Magica considered it to be a great wasp of some kind but a more detailed description of the Whangdoodle and the particularly gruesome way it ate Oompa Loompas and other mammalian and reptilian inhabitants of Loompaland showed it to be one of the Assassin bugs of the family Reduviidae which had its venomous stinger at hit head rather than its tail. This stinger was modified from insect mouthparts and did double duty as a suction mouth as well as an envenomation organ from which a liquid meal could be sucked into the bug made through the digestive elements of the venom.

It seemed that Wonka saved the entire population of Oompa Loompas from these Whangdoodles and other giant insect predators of Loompaland and offered them wages in their favorite food, cocoa beans to do the work in his factory formerly done by native British employees before some of them became spies for his competetors, particularly Arthur Slugworth of Slugworth's Chocolate Inc. It seemed to Magica that this Slugworth person was an enemy that she could use in getting the Wonka factory out of business and thuss transferred to the Coachman, the Ringmaster and herself.

Next, While Pinocchio, Peter and Lampwick are busy hunting for Magica De Spell she carries out her plot to get the Ringmaster and the Coachman released. This fanfic concludes with this plot then its off to 21st century England for my next fanfic, Pinocchio and the Chocolate Factory.


	5. Magica De Spell's Real Plot

Chapter 5 - Magica De Spell's Real Plot:

Tuscany Provincial Prison, Florence, Italy, 1882:

The Ringmaster hardly expected visitors on visiting day. For what he did to boys he was probably the most hated convict in Tuscany in 1882. Indeed it was only because of opposition to the death penalty on the part of his judge that he received Life Imprisonment without parole for the crimes of kidnapping children and altering their forms to donkeys so he could "legally" sell them into slavery. Indeed the death penalty was warranted in his case for his actions were crimes against nature itself as well as the Province of Tuscany and the families involved. The "donkeys" that died in salt mines or in circuses that routinely abused their animals could also be considered murder on the Ringmaster's part as well as their abusers as it was now well known that the donkeys the Ringmaster was selling were not really donkeys.

Most of the Ringmaster's time in prison was spent in a solitary hole because of the well known murderous hatred the run of the mill crook had for those who heinously abused children in any way. Basically what the Ringmaster's fate came down to is his prison stay would be in solitary confinement or he WOULD receive the death penalty but at the hands of his fellow convict prisoners and not the State.

The visitor when she came was a female anthropomorphic duck dressed as a lawyer but the Ringmaster knew who this "lawyer" really was. It was Magica De Spell, the anthropomorphic duck sorceress from the Duckburg world who partnered with him in the Pleasure Island Duckburg project due to her ownership of the Red Star whose magic he was using to make the project work.

"Don't say anything." Magica said as she pointed her hands at the rear wall of the solitary cell. Immediately the wall was bathed in a red light that seemed to dissolve it like euphoric acid. The same light likewise dissolved the wall behind it and the wall behind it and the wall behind it until the solitary block became a tunnel out of the prison. Magica then formed a red transport bubble around herself and the Ringmaster.

"It's obvious that you are trying to break me out but what for?" The Ringmaster asked Magica. "We will never be able to run a boy to donkey factory business on either of the Pleasure Islands again. Even if we could get custody of one or both of them again they are just so well known as former boy to donkey factories that they will be the first place the cops will look when boys start to turn up missing in Tuscany or Duckburg.

"Don't worry, we are going back to the old business but in an entirely new location I scouted out in the year 2005." Magica returned.

"Just what is this new location?" the Ringmaster asked.

"Well right now it is functioning as a candy factory but it also has a lot of amusement park like aspects in its manufacturing processes." Magica answered. "However this factory's owner, Willy Wonka has competition willing to go to any lengths to put this particular factory out of business, Particularly Slugworth Chocolate Inc. and Salt's Nuts inc."

"Converting this candy factory sounds like an interesting project for returning to our old business." the Ringmaster said. "Is this factory in 2005 where we are going now?"

"Not, yet." Magica returned. "First we are going to the Duckburg world to break your adoptive father, the Coachman out as well. He is the negotiator of our little group and we need him to get our negotiations with Henry Salt and Arthur Slugworth the owners of Wonka's rival confectionary companies off to a good start.

The red transport bubble left the prison by way of the tunnel that was once the Solitary Confinement cell block and headed straight for the Wishing Star wormhole. The next stop was Duckburg.

Road Project, Duckburg Prison, Duckburg Calisota, 1952:

The Coachman's fate was different from his adopted son's having been tried and convicted mainly for his activities concerning the Beagle Boys' attack on the Junior Woodchuck Camporee of 1951 and the founding of Pleasure Island Duckburg where no boys were not to be changed into donkeys but were to be sold as slaves in their original anthropomorphic animal forms in the 19th Century Italy of Pinocchio's world. The Coachman was spending a short sentence in a minimum security road project Prison where his sentence would be hard labor maintaining the roads and highways of Duckburg after which he would be turned over to the Collodi Authorities through the Barrel Ride Transport on Pleasure Island Duckburg to serve a life sentence at the prison there. His long red coat was now replaced with the orange jumpsuit of a hard labor Prisoner and attached to his right ankle was by a leg shackle and a three foot chain was a heavy iron ball.

Presiding over the Coachman's hard labor gang which in addition to the Coachman himself consisted mainly of Beagles captured after the latest failed attempt to break into Scrooge McDuck's money bin with an industrial laser when the Junior Woodchuck Camporee was relocated were three khaki uniformed shotgun guards of the dog man type which was the most common type of Anthropomorphic animal type in Duckburg. Ducks, the second most common type were generally considered too small and frail for the job of guarding convicted criminals on labor gangs.

Suddenly one of the guards shouted, "Look up in the sky!, a UFO!"

Another guard looked in the direction the first one was pointing. Indeed there was a UFO present, a translucent red one that appeared to be occupied by two people. As it came closer those people turned out to be a duck woman and an African true human in 19th century prison stripes. The guard recognized immediately who these two people were, Magica De Spell and the Coachman's adopted son who was supposed to be serving a life sentence in Collodi. It was obvious that Magica had sprung the ringmaster for some reason and was now trying to do the same for the Coachman. Both guards responded by shooting at the transport bubble with their semi automatic shotguns and were soon joined by a third. However being an object of magic the material weapons had no effect on the transport bubble or its inhabitants at all. Magica responded to the shotgun blasts with a magic beam from her own hand that opened the leg shackle that kept the coachman chained to the iron ball. The beam also lifted him into the transport bubble which then headed directly to the Wishing Star.

The Sky above the factory, Wonka Industries Inc. Factory, England, (Unnamed Town), 2005:

"There is our target." Magica said as she maneuvered the transport bubble to the small British town where Willy Wonka's candy factory was located and to the sky above the factory itself. In many ways this place liked like the prisons that the Coachman and Ringmaster were now so familiar with. The only difference was that the guarding outer wall did not have watchtowers on it. However the great barred gates on the front most part of the wall facing the town's main street were quite prison like. Inside these walls were a series of glass roofed buildings that were obviously greenhouses or tropical habitations of some sort. These made Willy Wonka's issues with Salt's Nuts Inc. quite evident. These buildings were obviously for farming his own plant based ingredients such as Cocoa beans, Vanilla beans, Nuts and the like rather than buying them from a separate confectioner service like Salt's Nuts Inc. The factory itself was a huge imposing castle like building of concrete, and steel with several semi circular glass fronts that were obviously outside parts of habitations and administration offices. The factory smokestacks rather than spewing the usual industrial pollution brought forth the smells of the various candies being made in the factory. Its entrance consisted of two massive sliding doors with three smaller doors built into them. While the Coachman, the Ringmaster and Magica were observing the factory a poorly dressed boy came up the gates, gawked at the place in amazement and took in the delicious smells that came form the factory smoke stacks.

"Look, at that pathetic urchin," The Coachman announced referring to the boy at the factory gate. "You are right Magica, that boy looks like perfect donkey material to me."

"He is not as good for donkey material as you may think by looking at him." Magica warned. "That boy is named Charlie Bucket and he is a real goodie two shoes. An A student despite his condition of poverty and who spends all his time when he is not gawking at this factory going to school and working at odd jobs to help support his parents and invalid grandparents. I doubt you would interest him in any kind of a Pleasure Island like institution."

"We might if the next "Pleasure Island" is this factory converted." the Coachman returned. "Your Charlie Bucket seems to have an inordinately great interest in it and that will be his undoing when we take the place over."

"Well enough of this." Magica said. "Next stop, Slugworth's Chocolate Inc in Buckinghamshire, England."

"And just why are we going to another Chocolate factory when this one is the one we want?" the Ringmaster asked. "I just happen to know the nature and fears of the people who work for Mr. Wonka in this place. They are known as Oompa Loompas and come from an island of the coast of New Zeland that no boats will land on because only one ever came back from it belonging to a certain William Wonka, the owner of this factory. He reported it to be dominated by giant predatory insects of the assassin bug family, Reduviidae locally called Whangdoodles. Wonka announced that the local peoples of that island, a dwarf people called Oompa Loompas were extinct and recommended carpet bombing of the island to keep the whangdoodle threat from other humans. However I believe that the Oompa Loompas are not extinct. I believe that Willy Wonka duplicated the conditions of their island here at this factory probably on one or more of those great greenhouses and gave them room board and food there in return for their labor."

"You mean to say that you believe that Wonka already has slave labor in that place?" the Coachman asked his adopted son.

"No, what I think we have here is an adoptive relationship like our own with Wonka as the father and the Oompa Loompas as the sons and daughters. They see Wonka as a father who saved them from the wehangdoodles and are therefore working for him entirely voluntarily for some kind of food item they like as wages because money is useless to them. However what is important about the Oompa Loompas is their fear of the whangdoodles and we can exploit that with an ordinary assassin or conenose bug converted to giant whangdoodle size by my Alexandrian magic."

"I know that you can do that with scorpions." Magica said, "But can you do it with Reduviids? They are insects you know, not scorpions."

"Yes," the Ringmaster said. "the two creatures eat in pretty much the same way. Their basic difference between them other than one being an insect and the other being an arachnid is that the Reduviid stinger is part of the mouthparts of the bug and the bug has wings and flying capability. What I'm proposing as a first attack on this factory is to release a normal Reduviid bug in it with a "time bomb" spell that will bring it up to whangdoodle size about the time we get to the Slugworth factory. Of course we will have to get the bug first."

"Just tell me where such a bug lives." Magica said. "I'm Pretty good at teleport spells and I can locate and bring such a bug here."

"Well the most infamous of the Reduviid bugs for venom and probably the closest related ones to the whangdoodle are the are the White Spotted Assassin Bugs of Africa. Being from Africa the White Spotted Assassin Bugs is the Rheduviid that is also the most susceptible to Alexandrian magic."

Magica set out to fill the Ringmaster's order. "First she produced a small jar by teleportation so that the highly dangerous assassin bug would not have to be handled. She then teleported the bug to the jar. What

occupied the jar looked like some chimeric combination of beetle and wasp with the stinger located under the head in a folding pocket knife style until it was to be used. It was the infamous White Spotted Assassin Bug, of the family Reduviidae and the deadliest non wasp or bee based insect in the known world where venom was concerned.

The Ringmaster then pointed at the bug ten times in an arcane manner. "That spell will take effect ten minutes after that bug is placed in the factory." he announced. "Now where to place it we will have to go to Magica's magic again to detect what is beyond those doors at the front of the factory."

Magica concentrated on the doors then announced. "I detect a long corridor of nothing but oval windows behind the door leading to a locked major room of some kind."

"Can you get that bug into the room?" the Coachman asked.

"Of course I can." Magica answered. "Willy Wonka's locks are a lot less secure than Scrooge McDuck's. My teleport magic can get past them easily."

"Ok, than teleport that bug into the room at the end of the corridor." The Coachman said. "Then it's off to the Slugworth factory to see if we can cut a deal with Mr. Slugworth and Mr. Salt involving this factory.

With that Magica De Spell teleported the assassin bug into Wonka's factory and headed the transport bubble in the direction of Buckinghamshire.

Slugworth's Chocolate Inc., Buckinghamshire England, 2005:

Arthur Slugworth was talking with his business ally Henry Salt in the Slugworth factory's main office when reports of the UFO in the factory parking area came in.

"Mr. Salt," Slugworth was saying. "Have you found that Golden Ticket for your daughter yet?"

"Were, Trying." Mr. Salt returned. "My factory workforce hasn't shelled a nut in three days now. All they are doing is unwrapping those infernal Wonka bars. There are only four of those tickets in the world now after the German pig boy found the first one and the WHOLE BLOOMIN' WORLD is looking for them."

"Yes," said Mr. Slugworth. "We know of your daughter Veruca's infamous impatience when it comes to getting something she wants. However you know my reasons for you and her getting a ticket are more important than hers and therefore I'm even more impatient."

"I know that you want to use my daughter and I as spies and saboteurs in the Wonka factory." Mr. Salt returned. "I've already got a plan in place to take out Wonka's nut sorting rooms and machines if he shows them to us on the Golden Ticket tour. Basically I think one of my daughter's infamous tantrums will more than destroy the place."

"That plan sounds stupid to me." Mr. Slugworth said. "betting our plans for the elimination of the Wanka factory from our competition on the vague, spoiled, whims of a child on a nut sorting room."

"However Wanka must be using the Havermax four thousand nut sorter just as my factory does." Mr. Salt returned. "I gave my daughter the lowdown on how to put that machine perminantly out of commission and I just know that there is a Golden Ticket in Buckinghamshire because I have observed Wonka truck drivers acting as spies on candy shops here and bought out every Wonka bar in town. We have that ticket at Salts Nuts and it is just a matter of time before we find it."

Suddenly someone shouted. "Mr. Slugworth!, Mr. Salt."

"Mr. Salt shouted back at the voice. "Someone find the Golden Ticket at my factory yet!"

"No," the voice returned. "But there is a UFO landing right here in the Slugworth factory parking lot!"

"Now don't tell me we're being invaded by spacer aliens on top of all our other problems." Mr, Slugworth blurted out.

"Two of the UFO inhabitants look pretty human but the third seems to be a type of anthropomorphic duck." the voice returned. "Once it landed the UFO simply disappeared and they started walking toward our factory entrance." They seem to know about your ideas to sabotage Willy Wonka's factory and have a proposal for you."

"What exactly is their proposal?" once the question was asked by Slugworth the three people being discussed suddenly appeared on his office surprising and temporarily shocking both Mr. Slugworth and Mr. Salt.

"We want to help you put the Wonka factory out of business in return and in your hands in return for the rights to convert it into an ammusement park." the duck woman said.

"Our plan has already started." the ringmaster attired African man said. "We placed the ultimate object of the current Wonka employees' fear in the factory. This should cause them to abandon it and leave Wonka without workers again."

"Then you know who the current Wonka employees are?" Mr Salt asked.

"Yes, but I'm keeping it secret." the Ringmaster returned. "They are slated for liquidation anyway."

"This term "liquidation" was very satisfying to the Salt and Slugworth families including the members present at the meeting. Even though one would not think such of candy makers and nut processors the Slugworths and the Salts were pretty high up in several internationalist political, business and outright criminal organizations. Indeed the spies and saboteurs that the Slugworths hired to steal from and sabotage Willy Wonka's factory before he temporarily closed it came from organized crime and international espionage circles. In fact one of the few agencies that couldn't be bought by the internationalist cartels and crime organizations was the United Kingdom's 00 section made famous by its agent James Bond. The final destruction of the International criminal and espionage cartel SPECTRE by Bond with the aid of a donkey, a late middle aged man and a boy scout was one of the latest of his stories to come out of classification and threatened to compete with Wonka's Golden Ticket contest for the top news story of the year 2005 even though the events it exposed to the public occurred way back in 1971.* The Slugworths and the Salts knew SPECTRE quite well even before the story of their destruction was declassified just as the did the Mafia, the Union Corse, the KGB and GRU of the former Soviet Union, Various American, Mexican and Columbian drug and crime cartels and similar organizations. The current leading internationalist criminal, political and espionage cartel that the Slugworths and the Salts were involved with was known as the Black Triangle and included the surviving membership of those previous organizations as well as the latest generation of International business mostly of the treasonous and crooked type but with some legitimate business fronts like Salt's Nuts Inc. and Slugworth's Chocolate Inc., espionage And outright crime.

"Stay with us for a while so we can contact our superiors on the idea of adding you to our organization, the Black Triangle." Slugworth said. "We can only do business with people that are a part of that International order. Do you have any previous experience with being port of such an order."

"Yes," the older fat man of the group said. "You have been reading the SPECTRE story that has been filling up newspaper space and vidiot box time as of late along with thw Wonka Golden Ticket story."

"Yes," Arthur Slugworth said. "according to that that story the last SPECTRE plot involved turning boys into donkeys and was originated by a new "Number 1" claiming to be the Coachman form the story of Pinocchio after the death of the original "Number 1" Earnst Stavro Blofeld. The plot was stopped and SPECTRE permanently dismantled and destroyed when a trained donkey that is presumed dead even though no body or body parts belonging to it have been found set off a bomb on SPECTRE Island.*"

Suddenly the truth came to Slugworth, "You are that last SPECTRE Number 1. I remember because Is was beating the begeebers out of the last person you turned into a donkey on SPECTRE Island in his last martial arts training fight."

"Yes I do remember an Arthyr Slugworth senior ordering you put through martial arts training on SPECTRE island as a part of your grooming to be a part of some new organization that would replace SPECTRE in the event of its destruction or disbandment." The Coachman said "This Black Triangle of yours must be SPECTRE's successor. Well tell your new leader or "Number 1 or whatever he calls himself that we have no interest in taking over a leadership roll again. We just want to go back to our old business of turning unruly boys into donkeys and selling them to third world nations here and back in our own world and time through an amusement park, and we want Wonka's factory to be that park therefore we will not be using it to compete with your legitimate businesses as Wonka does."

"That should help things with our superiors." Slugworth Returned.

"Just a couple more things." the Coachman returned. "Is this James bond Person involver with taking on your organization yet and have you heard of a bearded late middle aged man with three boys dressed in Tyrolean, Working class Italian and Russian style in the vicinity of the Wonka factory."

"As for Bond our latest intelligence about him shows he is working against a competitor organization to the Black Triangle called Quantum as of this moment and knows nothing about us as yet." Slugworth returned.

"As for the family you mentioned which I presume is Pinocchio's family from your time line there is no reports of anyone resembling them at the Wonka factory."

"Fine." Now while we're waiting for your superiors to okay our entry into your new organization and our plots concerning the Wonka factory we really need a place to stay where Magica De Spell here will not be conspicuous." the Coachman pointed to the duck woman.

"We'll Put you up in the residential section of this factory." Slugworth said.

"Fine," The returned and with that the first conspiratorial meeting between Arthur Slugworth, Henry Salt, the Coachman, the Ringmaster and Magica De Spell came to an end.

***See the Disney - James Bond Crossover, You're a Donkey Twice for the details on this event.**

**This chapter ends the Peter, Pinocchio and the Scorpion and Begins the next fan fic in my series of Pinocchio stories and Crossovers, Pinocchio and the Chocolate Factory which brings Pinocchio, Peter, Lampwick and Geppetto into the World of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.**

**The idea of Arthur Slugworth as an international crook was inspired by the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory fan fic, In Another's Eyes by Yva J. Henry Salt was added to the criminal conspiracy angle of this story and the next one to give him a more interesting excuse to buy out all the Wonka bars in Buckinghamshire and find his daughter a Golden Ticket than merely pandering to her spoiled brattish ways.**


End file.
